The Classics - The Shadow

Even as a young child, I had heard of The Shadow.

Kids knew the famous phrase, "Crime does not pay! The Shadow knows!" (Cue the evil laugh.)

But despite all that, I had never seen the character until I picked up this comic book - The Shadow #5, cover dated September 1965 and published by Radio Comics (an offshoot of Archie Comics).

I wasn't impressed. Little did I know that this character had almost nothing in common with the original pulp character.

Here was a hero dressed in a generic blue-and-green superhero costume. The entire issue is devoted to a series of battles with five different villains, each of which he manages to defeat through a variety of super-weapons or abilities, including his ability to create illusions, a metal-destroying whistle, flying boots that allow him to catch a missile, and taking mental control of an opponent (which seems like the only power he'd really need).

The writer and artist aren't credited, but even by my 9-year-old self's standards, this was pretty weak stuff. It seemed like a weak imitation of Marvel's comics.

That series didn't last long, and not long after I started picking up the paperbacks reprinting The Shadow's original pulp adventures. I was immediately hooked.

So it was great to see, a mere eight years after that earlier Shadow, the real deal showing up in a new series from DC Comics (cover dated October-November 1973).

Guided by writer Denny O'Neil and artist Michael Kaluta, here was a series that returned the character to his origins. Set in the 1930s, it was surprisingly brutal, with gun battles, death and destruction aplenty.

In his war on crime, the mysterious Dark Avenger uses his band of agents (including the beautiful Margo Lane) to solve a mystery on the waterfront. The Shadow is not a superhero, though he has some amazing abilities - near-instant hypnosis, for example - but like Batman (whose creation was obviously inspired by The Shadow), he's a human who's trained himself to be at the peak of his abilities.

Also like Batman, The Shadow uses some "wonderful toys" in his battles. One of my favorites is on display here - the Autogyro, an early version of a helicopter.

The art is fantastic, which is to be expected from an industry legend like Kaluta. Each panel drips with mood and suspense - few artists can compare to his version of the world of The Shadow.

It's a shame that modern audiences probably don't know much about this classic character, although pulp reprints are once more available. DC is apparently planning some pulp projects, including one coming soon with Doc Savage.

I'm a big fan of Doc, but I can't help but hope that we'll see The Shadow back in action, too. He was the biggest star of the pulps, and deserves to be back in the spotlight. So to speak.

Grade: Radio Comics version: C-
DC version: A